Red On Main — Restaurant in Madison

I celebrated a BD dinner with my son (23) on the Saturday evening of Madison Chautauqua 2024 - the Chautauqua was kind of a bust - rain all day and windy - lots of vendors - not to mention patrons - just never showed up! - We had made a reservation for the evening at Red about a month in advance however - and dinner was a success!

Even though the town was kind of deserted by 5:00 pm - Red was buzzing! We asked to be seated even though we arrived about 1 hour ahead of our reservation time.. and after a short 10 minute wait in the chairs by the hostess stand - we were seated - at a corner table even.. Mafioso chic!

Bree was our server - she was super busy - but not in the weeds, kind, efficient, professional - though she did not have time to be chatty!

We had/comments:

Cocktails - Espresso Martini - looked tasty - and I had a Main Manhattan - delicious - complex tart and sweet - definitely NOT just a glass of bourbon and some afterthoughts.

Apps - Creole Shrimp - I think there were 5 PERFECTLY cooked shrimp - large, tasty sauce - soft bread on the side - & - garden salad - VERY large - could be a meal - we split both - I did ask for some ground pepper on top - forgotten - but since that WAS my biggest problem of the day - that means it was a GREAT day!

Mains - My son again had shrimp - also Cajun or Creole I think - On pasta - he loved it - LOTS of shrimp - he said he would have like a little more in the way of pasta - he said the past MIGHT have been homemade pasta? was very good anyway..

I had the "crispy duck" - I would give the duck 4/5 - Pros: - SO happy to have duck - as I love it and hard to find on menus - not something we make at home - nice large portion - bone in, meat was well cooked! - Yum! - not as good - billed on the menu as "Peking style" - but the skin was NOT crispy - and the sauce was kind of sweet for my taste - almost like a pork BBQ sauce - I would have preferred something like soy/honey/ginger - just an idea though - still thrilled to have a chance to enjoy some tasty and well cooked duck - the veggie sides were good too - esp. the wilted spinach and crisp potato and horseradish croquette -

Dessert - we split a piece of peanut butter/chocolate pie, which Bree recommended - spot on! Very tasty and not TOO sweet - good call Bree -

On a side note - the coffee was shockingly "meh" - I generally have much better coffee at Pilot or McD's - but, they did not charge for the coffee - so - all good..

Atmosphere - GREAT - comfortable, lively, friendly - classic rock background music just that - BACKGROUND - for the pleasant bubble of conversations - tables and walkways not cramped.. light level well adjusted.

Bill - $150 for 2 including tip - for cocktails and 3 course meal with good service in a happy spot - this is a fair price.

We plan...

Was looking Forward to trying out this restaurant as I was visiting in town and heard good things about this place, I called early afternoon and asked about reservations as it was a large party of nine, and was told by the receptionist they did not take reservations but to call 20 minutes prior to put on the waitlist. I did what was told and got a busy signal, mind you this is at 6 o’clock in the evening, I called over 30 times and each time it was busy, and also had others call to make sure it just wasn’t me, and they too had a busy signal. Once arrived to the restaurant, told the receptionist about the busy signal and trying to call ahead and was told the phone was put off the hook. And doing that they had told me they just seated a large group and we would have to wait an hour to be seated. I was not too happy, but sat outside and had a drink that I ordered from the bar while we waited. I ordered three drinks, top shelf liquor and it was $50, $50 for three drinks and I was told it was because it was top shelf , I live near DC and it is not cost that much, and I know this area is not DC nor the pricing, so I was very shocked by their prices for the drinks. Was told afterwards they had ran out of drink mix and cannot make any more of the requested drink . After we were seated, ordered appetizers and food. One of the appetizers that was simply cheese and toast came out almost 40 minutes later, just as we were getting our food which took a long time as well, was told 20 minutes after we ordered our food they were out of hamburger which one of the items order was a kids cheeseburger. Our waiter was great, but the pricing of the drinks, the putting the phone off the hook and Lack of items not available that were on the menu that should have been told to us prior before ordering and then waiting an hour for food, just to rush and shoved down our throat to see the fireworks. Will be going back to Madison again but will not be...

Found this place on Yelp and went in for lunch! Darien(?) was our server, she was friendly, cheerful and helpful! They had a seasonal cocktail that I tried and a couple of specials. We ended up sharing the steak sandwich special. Cocktails were perfectly crafted - in appropriate glasses ( a pet peeve of mine )and the seasonal one was delicious- it tasted like apple pie. The sandwich was chunks of filet, with cheddar, onions and chipotle mayo - plenty for two and served with shoestring fries. We shared the flourless chocolate torte for dessert- a little slice of heaven! We asked about Italian restaurants in the area - no wonder we couldn’t find any - there aren’t any. A couple of other places were recommended and we were able to take a look at their own dinner menu - we could definitely be back for dinner! Don’t miss out, definitely worth a visit! Update: So we returned for dinner & we’re lucky someone didn’t show up for their reservation - we arrived at 5.45 on a Thursday and the place was full! Our server was as Azalee - cocktails were once again awesome (the special from lunch was not available so I had an espresso martini). We shared the calamari appetiser, plenty for two or even three. It was light crispy and had some banana peppers in there too. For our main courses my husband had the creole pasta, and I had the crispy duck. The pasta was filled with large shrimp, sausage & chicken. Crispy duck was delicious, loved the crispy potato croquette - sadly the carrots were undercooked but the food portions were plenty big enough. They have a nice selection of wines also. Dinner was about $70 per person (a cocktail each, shared appetizer, 2 entrees & 2 glasses of wine) Red on Main is like 2 different places, one at lunch & then it transforms for dinner! Thanks Darien & Azalee for making our trip to...